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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443123">wait for me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snugglytyler/pseuds/snugglytyler'>snugglytyler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>alien!tyler [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twenty One Pilots</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Character(s), Alien/Human Relationships, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Requited Love, alien!tyler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:34:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snugglytyler/pseuds/snugglytyler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>tyler wants to know what love feels like. josh is afraid to confess his feelings for him. </p><p>oh, and tyler can’t be trusted around a stove.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph, Tyler Joseph/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>alien!tyler [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ever since Tyler moved in with him, Josh felt like he was raising a child. With Tyler knowing very little about human life and culture, Josh had to continue to teach him, well... everything. Their days had been filled with the alien asking hundreds of questions and Josh answering every single one without hesitation. Tyler had been here for a week and a half now, and there was no mention of him leaving — which Josh didn’t mind at all. He did enjoy his company, and though it was tiresome to teach Tyler all this stuff, it was very much worth it. </p><p>The day after Tyler had come back with him, they just seemed to be attached at the hip. They learned about each other’s lives and connected quickly, and Josh easily could say Tyler was already becoming a best friend. And he was even developing a bit of a crush on him. Come on, you can’t blame him. Tyler in human form was hot, plus he was super sweet and funny! </p><p>Josh had learned that alien life for Tyler really wasn’t glamorous. Those on his planet were so obsessed with finding out about humans and copying their culture that it completely consumed everything they did. Their relationships weren’t anything like humans either. Tyler only had co-workers, he didn’t have any friends. Families weren’t valued at all. Sure, Tyler had parents and siblings, but they weren’t close. They would talk sometimes, but there was no love or emotion felt between them. It was part of the reason why Tyler was so curious about humans and earth. He always felt different from those around him and was fascinated by the fact that humans showed when they were happy, sad, or in love. A few nights into his stay, Josh had told him all about his own family and siblings. Tyler listened intently and watched him speak with shining eyes, adoring to hear about something that felt so foreign to him. Josh had assured him that he would introduce him to his family sometime so he could get to know them. He also had explained to Tyler that Jim was basically a family member as well, because Josh just loved the pup so much. He told him how the golden retriever was actually a trained service dog who helped him when he had terrible anxiety attacks. Tyler couldn’t quite grasp what that exactly meant, but Josh promised it would probably make more sense to him overtime as he learned more about human behavior. </p><p>Because Josh was being so generous in letting him stay at his place and teach him about human life, Tyler decided this morning he would attempt to show him how grateful he was. So he was going to cook Josh breakfast!</p><p>He had quietly gotten out of bed before Josh could wake up and went straight to the kitchen. It’s important to mention that Josh has not taught him how to cook yet, so he’s just going to guess by trying to remember Josh’s movements from when he’s cooked for them. He first grabs the carton of eggs out of the fridge, figuring he could start with that since that’s usually one of the things that Josh prepares for the two of them in the morning. He grabs one egg and turns the stove on, smiling proudly when it lights up. He takes one of the pans and sets it over the fire before breaking the egg apart with his hands, the yolk and the whites slipping through and onto the pan, parts of the shell joining them. And Tyler doesn’t really know what to do with the rest of the shell, so he just cracks it a bunch more and sprinkles it on top of the cooking egg. For extra crunch, he thinks! He repeats his movements with another egg before he leaves the stove to see what else he can make. He sees the bag of bagels that Josh had bought the day prior and thinks that’s perfect! He grabs a full one and figured the best thing to do would be to just cook it on top of the egg, so he drops that into the pan as well. </p><p>Now all that’s left to do is wait for it to be done, he assumes! He doesn’t know how long that takes, but he’s sure he can manage. In the meantime he starts to look through some magazines that were laid out on the kitchen table, quickly getting distracted by all of the colorful pictures and celebrity gossip. Behind him, the food was quickly burning in the pan, causing a lot of smoke to rise and a nasty smell to start spreading. It wasn’t until the fire alarm started to beep that Tyler realized something was wrong. </p><p>And so did Josh. He awoke with a jolt, anxiety running through his veins as he smelled something burning and heard the alarm going off. Jim was off the bed in a flash, running straight to the kitchen with Josh following shortly behind. </p><p>“What are you doing?!” Josh gasped as he saw all the smoke and Tyler doing absolutely nothing about it. He quickly turned off the stove and took the pan off, dropping it into the sink and turning the cold water on. </p><p>“I was making you breakfast,” Tyler frowned. “Did I do it wrong?”</p><p>Josh sighed, running over to wave a towel in front of the smoke alarm so it would turn off, which it thankfully did within a minute. “Yes, Tyler. You have to watch what you’re doing carefully, and it doesn’t look like you were cooking correctly at all,” he responded as he went back to the sink and took a look after shutting the water off. “You don’t even know how to cook! You could’ve burned this whole place down.”</p><p>Tyler blushed and ducked his head shyly. “I’m sorry, Josh. I just thought I’d be able to do it, and I wanted to thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”</p><p>Josh’s heart melted at that. How could he stay mad at this sweet alien? “Well, thank you. That’s very kind of you, but I don’t want you using the stove without me, okay? You have a lot to learn before I trust you around fire,” he snorted. </p><p>So this morning, Josh decided it was the perfect time to teach Tyler how to prepare cereal. Soon they each had a bowl of the sugary breakfast, sitting on opposite sides of the table. Tyler looked to be playing with his food a bit, giggling at the fact that the white milk had turned brown from the chocolatey cereal. </p><p>“I’m gonna have to go grocery shopping today, you burned the last eggs,” Josh chuckled as he took another spoonful in his mouth. </p><p>Tyler’s head snapped up at that. “Oh, really? Can I come?” He asked hopefully. </p><p>Since Tyler arrived, he hadn’t been outside of Josh’s house or yard. Josh thought it would be a good idea to ease him into everything, have him learn a good amount about humans before he saw more of the world. But it was clear that Tyler was getting antsy just being stuck here, especially when Josh would have to leave for work sometimes. </p><p>Josh sighed and smiled. “Alright, you can come,” he gave in. “But you have to stay with me the whole time.”</p><p>Tyler practically squealed with excitement. “Awesome, I’m so excited!” He started slurping up the rest of his cereal then, soon jumping up and setting his empty bowl in the sink before running back to Josh’s room, calling out something about getting dressed. </p><p>Ah, the first time he seemed to actually <em>want</em> to put clothes on. Josh couldn’t help but laugh, he just thought it was adorable that Tyler was so enthusiastic over something that seemed as simple as a trip to the grocery store. </p><p>It wasn’t long after that they were both ready to go. Josh helped Tyler into his car, showing him how to buckle his seatbelt. The alien was absolutely giddy, jumping with excitement. It was his first time in the car as well, so he was totally overwhelmed with emotion. “You’re cute when you’re happy,” Josh said sweetly and got Jim in the car as well, who happily took a seat between Tyler’s legs. </p><p>The alien smiled at the compliment, looking over at Josh once he had gotten in on the driver’s side. “Jim is coming?”</p><p>Josh nodded as he started up the car and began backing out of the driveway. “Yeah. Remember I said he’s specially trained so he’s allowed anywhere unlike other dogs? Sometimes I bring him with me shopping in case I get a panic attack. Public places and certain people make me anxious and nervous. And with his being your first public outing, I definitely need Jim with me,” he breathed in relief as he pet the pup’s head with one hand before returning it to the wheel. </p><p>“I make you nervous?” Tyler questioned. </p><p>Josh glanced over at Tyler with a pout. “Well, not you personally. It’s just that I know you’re excited about everything so it could attract other people’s attention, and I’m scared people will get suspicious.”</p><p>Tyler smiled warmly and poked Josh’s shoulder playfully, trying not to distract him from the road. “I’ll lay low, don’t worry.”</p><p>Well... he would try to, anyway. They arrived at the grocery store within minutes, Josh always thankful that he lived so close to all the good shops. He helped Tyler get unbuckled — somehow the guy had managed to tangle his arms all up in the seatbelt — and took Jim’s leash in his hand. He grabbed the first cart he saw and made sure Tyler was staying close to him as they entered the store. </p><p>And if Josh was like a little kid when he first saw space outside of Tyler’s ship, so was Tyler when he saw the inside of a grocery store. </p><p>“Wow,” Tyler spoke in awe, keeping his voice just above a whisper. “There’s so many different people! And look at all the food!” He grinned, his eyes snapping back and forth as he tried to view everything as they walked down the first aisle. </p><p>Josh thought it was adorable seeing Tyler so into all of this. He noticed his alien friend seemed to be holding back a little since he had promised Josh he would lay low, and Josh appreciated that very much. He really was doing a good job at blending in! </p><p>The shopping trip was quick and easy. Josh had picked up some more eggs and other things he had been out of, and Tyler even gave some input on things that looked tasty — which just so happened to be a bunch of junk food. Brownies, cookies, candy bars — seemed like Tyler had a mighty sweet tooth. But he just looked so eager to try it, and there was no way Josh would be able to tell Tyler no. </p><p>“Alright, I think that’s everything!” Josh told Tyler after he had grabbed a fresh loaf of bread. “Now we just have to wait in line and pay for everything,” he explained. </p><p>Tyler nodded, noting that in the back of his mind so he would remember for future shopping trips. When Josh started to put everything in the cart up on the conveyer belt, Tyler copied his movements so he could help out. Soon the cashier began to scan their items, and he seemed to be eyeing Tyler a bit too much (at least in Josh’s opinion).</p><p>“Did you find everything alright?” The cashier asked the both of them, though he was looking at Tyler. The alien glanced down at the name tag, seeing that his name was Dan. </p><p>“Um... yes! I think we did, right, Josh?” He turned to his human friend to double check. He wasn’t prepared to talk to another human. </p><p>Josh nodded in confirmation and was about to say something else, but Dan began speaking again. </p><p>“Wonderful! And I must say, you two make a rather cute couple,” he smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. </p><p>Tyler looked at him curiously, and Josh knew that he didn’t quite understand. “Uh, we’re not actually dating,” the curly haired man blushed, rubbing his hand over Jim’s leash. “We’re just friends.”</p><p>Dan’s face lit up then, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked back over at Tyler. “Oh! Sorry about that, you just seem rather close,” he laughed softly as he finished scanning their items. “In that case, maybe you’d like to hangout sometime?”</p><p>Tyler hesitated, keeping his eyes trained on the other man to decide if he was nice enough. He seemed the total opposite of Josh — he had shaggy, dirty blonde hair with blue eyes, and he was more so on the scrawny side. The alien had trusted Josh immediately, but... if this other human was so willing to have him in his company too, he figured it would be worth a try. Tyler really wanted to socialize more and fit in. “Okay! I’d love that,” he smiled. </p><p>Josh’s heart sunk at that. He could see exactly where this was going. He sighed softly as he handed Dan his credit card to pay for the groceries, and he began to put the bags back in their cart. </p><p>“Awesome! Here’s my number,” Dan hummed as he scribbled it down onto the receipt, handing that over to Tyler instead of Josh, along with the card. “Can’t wait to take you out, cutie.”</p><p>Tyler’s eyes widened a bit at that, looking down at the receipt in his hand as Josh started tugging on his arm to leave. He waved goodbye to Dave and handed Josh the credit card and receipt once they had made it outside. “Are humans always so outgoing?”</p><p>“Well, no. That guy was hitting on you,” Josh told him. </p><p>Tyler turned to look at Josh quickly, looking shocked. “What are you talking about? He didn’t even touch me!”</p><p>Josh stopped walking as they came to his car, staring at Tyler for a few moments before he realized what he was thinking. “Oh,” he snorted, “no! I don’t mean physically hitting. He was flirting with you, he wants to go on a date with you.”</p><p>“A... date?” Tyler raised an eyebrow at him, opening the back door of the car so Josh could start putting the bags in, in which the alien assisted as well. </p><p>Josh nodded. “A date. It’s where you hang out with someone you like. A lot of time it’s to eat lunch or dinner, or see a movie. Stuff like that.”</p><p>“Oh! So just what we do?”</p><p>“Uh- um...” Josh glanced over at Tyler, biting his lip. “No, we’ve never been on a date.”</p><p>Tyler furrowed his eyebrows. “But I like you and we do that stuff. Why is it not the same?”</p><p>Josh sighed. “Yeah, we eat together and watch movies, but that’s just at my house. Usually dates happen in public. And it’s usually way more affectionate and romantic feelings. We don’t have that.” He tried to keep his voice even because he didn’t want Tyler to know he actually was crushing on him. There was no way Tyler would feel the same — on Tyler’s planet love doesn’t even exist, so Josh isn’t hopeful at all. </p><p>Tyler frowned, putting the last grocery bag in the back before closing the door. “Oh.” He was silent after that, so Josh took that as a good time to go put the empty cart back. He handed Tyler Jim’s leash so he could take him in the car. </p><p>When Josh got back Tyler was seated in the passenger seat perfectly buckled in, giving Jim gentle pets on the head. Josh smiled proudly and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Nice job, you figured out the seatbelt!”</p><p>Tyler looked up at Josh with a small smile and nodded. He looked back at Jim again, not saying anything else. </p><p>Josh pouted a bit. Tyler was usually very talkative... he just shrugged it off for now and turned the car on, beginning the drive home. </p><p>They sat in silence, aside from the radio playing quietly in the background, up until they were turning onto Josh’s street. </p><p>“So that guy likes me?” Tyler asked quietly, looking over at Josh. </p><p>Josh was happy to hear Tyler’s voice again, but he was a bit sad they were still on this subject. “I guess so. He thought you were cute, and that’s usually the first thing people go for when asking people out. Sometimes people like to get to know people before going out with them, but other times they’ll just go out right away.”</p><p>Tyler nodded and looked out the window as Josh pulled into the driveway. “I think I want to contact him. I want to know what a date feels like... and I want to try and experience love.”</p><p>Josh sighed sadly as he turned off the car, looking over at his friend with a forced smile. “I think that would be great, Ty,” he lied. “I’ll help you text him, come on.” </p><p>They both grabbed the groceries and brought them inside. Once Jim’s leash was off, he ran over to the living room to play with his toys. </p><p>“Can you put these away for me?” Josh asked, gesturing to the bags and explaining what goes in the freezer and fridge, and what can stay out. “I gotta go get something, I’ll be back.”</p><p>Tyler did just as he asked, making careful note of what Josh said and putting everything away as neatly as he could. Josh returned to the kitchen just as he was finishing up, nodding in approval at Tyler’s work. “Perfect, you got everything right!”</p><p>Tyler grinned and closed the fridge. “What were you getting?”</p><p>“This!” Josh chirped and showed Tyler an old flip phone. “It’s a cell phone. I know, it looks nothing like the one I have now. It was mine back in middle school, but I figured it would do the trick for you to use until we can get you a new one.”</p><p>Tyler gasped in delight, giving Josh a big hug. “Thank you! Then I can keep in touch with you all the time too!” He always hated when Josh would be at work and Tyler was left without any communication to him. </p><p>Josh chuckled and hugged Tyler back, giving him a squeeze before pulling away. “Yeah, that, plus you can text Dan to set up your date.”</p><p>Tyler nodded, still smiling, though he had looked happier when he realized he could use it to talk to Josh more. “Awesome! Will you teach me how to use it?”</p><p>“Of course,” Josh answered. “Let’s go on the couch,” he told him and grabbed the receipt out of his pocket so he could put in Dan’s number. </p><p>Tyler happily skipped over to the living room then, and Josh couldn’t help but feel jealous. He wished he had the guts to tell Tyler how he felt, but he was just so terrified of rejection and thought the alien wouldn’t feel the same. But he would do anything to make Tyler happy, and he knew how much the alien wanted to experience so many things. So with that, he followed Tyler and sat beside him, beginning to teach him how to send a text.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Josh had been acting off the past few days. Tyler didn’t understand why, and each time he tried to bring it up Josh would just brush him off and change the subject or leave the room. It was odd, and Tyler wished he was more educated on human behavior so he could have a clue as to what was wrong. </p><p>The day of Tyler’s date with Dan was scheduled for that Saturday, and despite Josh acting different Tyler was still mega excited. He went through Josh’s whole closet and dresser trying to find the perfect outfit, and he even gave his human friend a little fashion show as he modeled the options he had chosen. Which actually resulted in Josh looking the happiest he had in days — the man had laughed at the alien’s choices because the colors and patterns were so mismatched. </p><p>
  <em>”Tyler, you can’t wear that.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Why not? I like it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know you do, but I’m telling you that you will definitely not impress him with this.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Why?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Because nobody wears gym shorts with suspenders and flip flops!”</em>
</p><p>So that wasn’t going to work. Luckily Josh had stepped in and handed Tyler over an outfit he thought would easily make Dan fall for him — which was the opposite of what Josh wanted, but he couldn’t help but want Tyler to feel confident in this date. </p><p>Tyler had been getting pretty good at texting too. It still took him a pretty long time to send a message, but each day he was getting better and better. Over the past few days he had been messaging Dan back and forth to try and get to know him better, and the alien noticed the other wasn’t very talkative. Perhaps he was shy, Tyler had thought — or perhaps Tyler would ask too many questions and would say odd things that was weirding Dan out. </p><p>He would show Josh each of the texts he sent and received, mostly because he was so proud of himself for interacting with another human using actual earth technology. But Josh would sometimes point out that Tyler might want to hold back a bit on the questions because it wasn’t normal to hear from a fellow human — which Josh had reminded Tyler that was what Dan thought he was. </p><p>
  <em>”You asked him what a restaurant was? Why didn’t you just ask me?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I didn’t want to bother you. His answer didn’t really answer my question though.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ty... he doesn’t understand why you don’t know. He thinks you’re human, so it’s weird to hear that question from a human.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh. So is that why he didn’t respond when I told him he is the second human I’ve ever spoken to?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Uh... yeah. More than likely, Ty.”</em>
</p><p>Tyler was all ready to go two hours before Dan was set to pick him up. He was wearing a short sleeve navy button up along with black jeans and Josh’s brand new Converse hi-tops. Josh had even helped him style his hair a bit more, and it looked even fluffier than usual. He both looked and felt amazing, and he took a seat right at the bay window in the living room, watching outside as cars passed up and down the street every now and then. Josh had warned him that he would be waiting a while, but Tyler didn’t care. He just wanted to make sure he was all ready when Dan got here. </p><p>When Tyler had checked his phone for the millionth time, he got giddy when he noticed it was only a few minutes until six — which is when Dan had said he would be over. Tyler watched out the window with a huge smile, waiting to see another car pull in the driveway. </p><p>He began to get antsy after a few minutes, so he checked his phone again. It was now 6:04pm. Well, that wasn’t so bad! Perhaps Dan had hit some traffic or one too many red lights. </p><p>He tapped his foot impatiently, and Josh finally entered the room at 6:15pm. “He’s not here yet? Did he text you?”</p><p>Tyler shook his head, not looking away from the window. Josh sat down right next to him and looked too, rubbing comforting circles in his friend’s knee. </p><p>6:30pm. </p><p>“Ty...”</p><p>“He’ll be here soon.”</p><p>Josh sighed and just nodded. </p><p>7:00pm. </p><p>Tyler tiredly leaned his head against the window and glanced over at Josh. </p><p>Josh looked back at him and opened his mouth to speak, but Tyler looked away immediately, so he just closed his mouth and went back to looking out the window too. </p><p>They were both silent until their phones read 8:00pm. </p><p>“He’s not coming, is he?” Tyler had asked quietly, playing with the hem of his shirt and keeping his eyes down. </p><p>Josh frowned. Though he hadn’t been excited about Tyler going out with someone else, he knew how much the alien had been looking forward to it. “I don’t think so, Ty. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Tyler looked up at him then, a small pout evident on his face and his brow furrowed with sadness. “Do humans usually do this?”</p><p>Josh shook his head and reached for Tyler’s hand, holding it gently in his own. “No. Some people do it, but they’re total jerks for it. It doesn’t happen often, and I am so sad and angry to see it happen to you.”</p><p>“Did I do something wrong?” Tyler asked genuinely. </p><p>Josh bit his lip. “No, you didn’t.”</p><p>Just then, Tyler’s phone vibrated with a text. </p><p>
  <strong>from: Dan</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>hey, I can’t make it. sorry about all this, but I really don’t think it’s gonna work out between us</strong>
</p><p>Josh had leaned over to see the text as Tyler read it, and his blood was boiling. What a total dick, he thought. </p><p>Tyler was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. “I weirded him out, didn’t I?” He asked, but it sounded more like a statement. He knew. </p><p>Josh sighed deeply. “Well... I’m guessing he didn’t understand some of your texts. But you didn’t know any better, and he should have been more patient with you. It’s absolutely heartbreaking that he would just put you through this rather than telling you how he felt or trying to fix it.”</p><p>Tyler put the phone down and laughed humorlessly, shaking his head. “I guess I’m the stupid one for even thinking that I could even feel love. It’s just not in my nature, I’m an idiot for even trying.”</p><p>Josh’s own heart broke at that, looking at Tyler with sad eyes. “You are not an idiot. Tyler, you said so yourself that those on your planet don’t show any type of emotion. Since I met you, that’s all I’ve gotten from you. You get excited and happy and nervous and curious and passionate and sheepish. Now you’re feeling hurt and sadness. It’s a terrible feeling, but it’s the human experience and you’re living it. Just like you wanted, right?”</p><p>Tyler looked at Josh and forced a small smile and nodded. He wasn’t happy in the moment, but Josh was absolutely correct and he appreciated him showing him that. </p><p>The curly-haired man leaned forward and wrapped the alien in a hug, rubbing his back gently. “You will feel love someday. You just have to be patient. And I will be here to comfort you and shield you from anyone who dares to hurt you.”</p><p>Tyler laughed softly and hugged Josh back, resting his head on his friend’s chest and just snuggling close. “Thank you, Josh.”</p><p>They stayed like that for a few minutes, and probably would have longer if it hadn’t been for a low rumble to sound out from Tyler’s stomach. “Someone’s hungry,” Josh chuckled. “What do you say I order some pizza?”</p><p>Tyler pulled away from the hug, smiling wide. “Mmm, pizza.”</p><p>Josh smirked and squeezed Tyler’s shoulder. Pizza had quickly become one of Ty’s favorite earth foods, and Josh was of course going to use that to cheer him up. “That’s my guy.” He stood from the couch and took out his phone, walking to the kitchen to place an order. </p><p>In the meantime, Tyler went back to the bedroom and changed into a hoodie — and just no pants. Only boxers. If he had to wear clothes, this would be his favorite outfit because it was the comfiest. He went back and sat on the couch in the living room, where Josh already was as well. </p><p>Josh had put on a movie for them to watch until the food got there. He picked a comedy, because even though Tyler didn’t understand a lot of human humor yet, he would still find himself laughing at the silliness. </p><p>It was peaceful like that as they watched, some giggles here and there. When the food arrived sometime later, Tyler paused it while Josh went to get the door. He brought over the pizza box along with some paper plates and two cans of soda. </p><p>Tyler went to grab a slice, and after he had taken a bite he didn’t reach to play the movie again. It was obvious something was on his mind and Josh didn’t push him. </p><p>“Josh,” Tyler spoke a minute later, “what does love feel like?”</p><p>“Oh,” Josh said in surprise with his mouth full. He finished chewing and swallowed that bite before speaking again. “Well... it depends, I suppose. There’s different kinds of love. You can love a friend or family member differently than you would a boyfriend or girlfriend.”</p><p>Tyler nodded. He already knew that, and Josh was aware. “Yes. But what does it feel like to be <em>in love</em> with someone?” He specified. </p><p>Josh was silent as he took a sip of his soda, clearly thinking over something. He was trying to choose his words carefully without revealing his own feelings for the alien. </p><p>Tyler was too impatient. “Have you ever been in love?” He asked curiously, taking another bite of pizza. </p><p>Josh shrugged. “Um... I dunno. Not really. I’ve loved people, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so romantically involved with someone that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with them. I had a girlfriend in middle school that lasted like two weeks,” he snorted. “I had a boyfriend towards the end of high school into college, but it was more like puppy love. I didn’t realize it until he moved away and found it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. I loved him, but... I knew it wasn’t going anywhere. I know true love has a deeper feeling to it.”</p><p>Tyler listened intently, looking over at Josh every now and then. “How do you know?”</p><p>Josh sighed. “I just... I just do.” He wanted to say he knows because he’s in love with the alien right in front of him, but he couldn’t find the confidence. “I see it between my parents, and my aunts and uncles. It’s like you’re so in tune with the other person.” He knew Tyler wanted to hear more as he looked at him, his big brown eyes full of curiosity. “Love is like... love is when you get completely annoyed with the other person, but you still find yourself laughing when they try to get you to smile and forgive them,” Josh continued. “You get a fuzzy, warm feeling when they do something cute. Sometimes it’s not even cute, it’s just something totally normal or random, but it’s <em>them,</em> and that’s what makes it so special. Love is when you want to spend your Sundays laying in bed with this person, just dozing off and giving each other lazy kisses before you finally decide to get up and make breakfast. And when you get to the kitchen you just end up having a flour fight and everything is a total mess, but you clean it up together and it’s totally worth it.” Perhaps that last one was too obvious. Something similar to that had happened the weekend prior — no kisses were involved, but everything else? Absolutely. Josh blushed and decided to just keep going. “Love is when you want to give everything in the world to someone, and even if that’s not possible you still always try. It’s wanting to be in their arms forever. Maybe not forever... that might be glamorizing it too much. Basically, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, but you still find your way back to the one you love no matter how hard it gets. Does that make sense?”</p><p>Tyler nodded slowly, a small smile on his face as he looked away and went back to eating his food. “It does. Thank you,” he said politely. </p><p>Josh took a deep breath, not finding his appetite just yet because now he was worried he would be found out. </p><p>He didn’t have to worry though because Tyler beat him to it just a few moments later. </p><p>“Hey, Josh?”</p><p>“Yeah, Ty?”</p><p>“I think I’m in love with you.”</p><p>Josh snapped his head to look at him. “What?”</p><p>Tyler smiled wider and looked back over at his friend. “Yeah. I feel the exact way you described — I just didn’t know what it was.”</p><p>Josh looked at him in awe. “Uh... are you sure? You might be confused.”</p><p>Tyler’s smile faded into a small pout then. “Yeah? I’m sure. I get a fuzzy feeling when I see you in the morning. And when you get home from work I just want to hug you for a really long time. I just want to be around you all the time. Plus, I think you’re really pretty.”</p><p>Josh smiled warmly then. Wow... guess he had nothing to be nervous about. “Hm, that last part doesn’t have me convinced. Didn’t you call me ugly the day we met?”</p><p>Tyler smiled back again. “Yes, I did. And if I remember correctly, you called me ugly right back.”</p><p>“Mhmm, I did,” Josh laughed. “But I’ve definitely warmed up to your odd human form,” he joked. “You’ve always been a beautiful alien.”</p><p>Tyler blushed then, ducking his head shyly. “So... we love each other,” he concluded. </p><p>Josh bit his lip shyly. “Yeah. Am I that obvious?”</p><p>Tyler giggled. “Not really. But the pancake thing kinda gave it away,” he smirked. </p><p>Josh rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Oops?” He sighed, a soft smile on his lips. “I really do love you, Ty.”</p><p>“I love you too,” Tyler said sweetly, looking absolutely giddy as he said the words out loud. “Is that why you were acting weird the past few days?”</p><p>Josh nodded ashamedly. “Yeah... I didn’t want you going out with that guy. I wasn’t ready to confess to you how I felt because I didn’t think you’d feel the same.”</p><p>Tyler pouted. “Oh. Well, I definitely do feel the same. Does this mean we can date and stuff?”</p><p>“Absolutely,” Josh chuckled. “I’ll take you out sometime, I promise.”</p><p>A huge dopey smile spread across Tyler’s face and he leaned over to kiss Josh’s cheek. It was a bit sloppy and was more so on Josh’s jaw, but come on, the alien had never kissed anyone before. Josh still blushed under his touch, kissing the tip of Ty’s nose in response. </p><p>The alien giggled, cheeks pink. “I like this.”</p><p>“Me too,” Josh sighed happily and fed Tyler a bite of pizza. </p><p>Ty accepted it gratefully. “Cool,” he responded as he faced forward again and pressed play on the remote, the forgotten movie resuming. He scooted closer to Josh, leaning his head on his shoulder as he began eating again. </p><p>“Cool,” Josh repeated back, his head resting on top of Tyler’s.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>open to any requests/rps!</p><p>tumblr/wattpad: snugglytyler</p></blockquote></div></div>
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